A Rainy Day on Pioneer Peak!

So, Ginger and I wanted to do a long hike over the long holiday weekend and asked another friend from work to come along... He convinced us to go do Pioneer Peak instead, which is the tallest peak in the Chugach State Park and approximately a 6000' climb!  We were a little nervous, but ready for the challenge.

We woke up early Saturday and made our way out to Palmer and the base of the mountain... This is what its supposed to look like.

However, everything was covered in clouds and rainy and you couldn't see more than 10feet ahead of you... We weren't discouraged though and hoped that as the day wore on and we got higher, either the clouds would lift or we would get above the clouds... but it managed to make the trail very very muddy and slippery!  Here is Ginger standing at the top of a slippery section after crawling up on her hands and feet.

We didn't quite make it all the way to the top, but we think we were about 4500 or 5000 feet up when we turned around.  And look at the view!

Even that high up we were still in the clouds and rain.  Here's a fun self portrait of us muddy and soaking wet!

Then we got to slip and slide our way back down the mountain... a few good falls, a few good slips and a lot of great laughs!  Here I am sliding and covered in mud!

Finally, the clouds lifted just a little bit, and you could see the Knik River, sort of..

Yet again, another great hike!